Lubricator.



AivTTn STATES PATENT FFICE.

FRANK WV. EDWARDS, OF IJOGANSPORT, INDIANA.

LUBRICATOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 706,224, dated August5, 1902.

Application iiled October 30, 1901. Serial No. 80,528- (No model.)

To @ZZ whom, z'f may concern,.-

Be it known that I, FRANK W. EDWARDS, a

citizen of the United States,residingat Logans-y port, in the county ofCass and State of Indiana, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Lubricators; and I do hereby declare the following toloe a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as Willenable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and usethe same.

This invention relates to certain new and useful improvements incondensation displacement lubricators, and more particularly to thefeed-arms and their connection with the lubricator bowl or reservoir andthe valve inthe upper feed-arm and its accessories,hav ing for itsobjects, among others, to provide an improved automatic check-valve togive a positive free working when the lubricator is feeding and apositive closing-valve in case the lubricator-glass breaks. I aim alsoat convenience in fitting up the parts as well as in removal thereof forrepairs or other causes. I further provide means for holding the valveand its cage positively toits seat and for lifting the cage and valvefrom the seat when it is desired to allow of a How of steam into orthrough the lubricator feed-glass and to allow condensation to fill intothe said glass. I also provide a simple yet most efficient means fordraining the glass 'when desired.

I provide the double valve herein shown to meet certain conditions,which are as follows: It is desirable to have a small valve that can belifted from its scat and leave a small opening for oil or steam to passthrough, and it isl also necessary to have means provided whereby anincreased opening can be made between the tallow-pipe side of the upperfeed and the sight-glass of the upper feed-arm of a lubricator, becausein actual service there are all kinds o f lubricating-oils fed throughthe lubricator. A greater per cent. of these have in them a gummysubstance, which collects on the parts with which it comes in contact.This gum gathers on the small check-valve and in many instances stops upthe small opening in which the small valve is seated. Then another andmore troublesome source of stopping up this small opening are the rubbergaskets with which the sight-glasses are packed. As the glasses becomeheated the rubber is softened, causing a leak, which necessitatestightening up the packing-nuts.

This tightening up of the packing-nuts causes a part of the gasket to beforced by the sides of the glass into the chamber leading to the smallopening in which is located the small check-valve. This small openingbeing in practice only about oneeighth of an inch in diameter and therubber particles being usually much largerthey completely ill theaforesaid opening or passage, stopping the feed of lubricant to thevalves and cylinder, which causes serious damage to the engine. To avoidthis damage to the engine, valves, and cylinders, I constructed mydouble valve, which gives an increased openin g when these dangerousconditions present themselves. This double valve meets and overcomesthese adverse conditions met with in actual service. The raising of thelarger valve or cage from its seat gives the increased openingnecessary' to let all dirt particles pass and give a free passage forthe oil'to pass through to the valves and cylinders of the engine. Thegumming of the parts hereinbefore referred to prevents the valve in theAupper feed-arm kmoving from its seat to allow the oil to pass around,and should it perchance be forced off its seat it would be rmly held inthe stem which guides it. My stem is provided so as to hold both thesmall valve andthe cage to their seats when the emergencies arise. Everydrop of oil blown out through a leak is that much waste from theengine-supply, and taking the combined waste that would occur on all theengines on one railroad it means a heavy loss to the railroad company inthe course of a year.

The construction is such that the valve may be closed by pressurebrought to bear on the upper side thereof by the presence of steam andalso by the pressure of the. valvestem, screw-threaded into a hub, soarranged as to put direct pressure on the top of the valve. It alsoprovides for the lifting of the valve from the bottom part of thefeed-arm and means whereby a direct or increased opening is made betweenthe inside of the upper feed-arm and the sight-feed glass.

Ifurther provide a heating-chamber for the oil-reservoir with meanslforthe admission of live steam to such chamber and the drain- IOO age ofthe water of condensation therefrom when required.

Other objects and advantages ofl the invention willhereinafter appear,and the novel features thereof will be specilically dened by theappended claims.

The invention in its preferable form is clearly illustrated in theaccompanying drawing, which is a substantially central vertical sectionthrough the parts constituting myimprovement, with a portion of thelubricatorbowl also shown in section, parts being in elevation and aportion broken away.

Referring now to the details of the drawing, 1 designatesv the cup orbowl of a lubricator of known or anyapproved form of construction,except as hereinafter specied, of which 2 is the supply-pipe. Thisbowlis shown as provided with the recess 3 around the outside of the wall ofthe heating-chamber 4, formed in the bowl, as shown. Itwill beunderstood that this chamber 4 extends around the bowl and that therecess 3 is merely for the purpose of lighteningthe bowl.

5 is the upper feed-arm. It has a screwthreaded end 6,wbich is screwedinto a screwthreaded opening communicating with the said heating-chamber4, as shown, and this arm has its lateral portion 5a formed with alongitudinal passage 7 for the admission of live steam to theheating-chamber 4 and a separate and independent longitudinal passage 8for the purpose of allowing of draining off of the water of condensationas it accumulates in the said chamber. This feedarm is provided with thedepending threaded nipple 9 to receive the sight-glass sleeve 10,through which passes the sight-glass 11, as shown. The lower end of thisglass is received in a corresponding sleeve l2, screwed onto the nipple13 of the lower feed-arm 14. The sleeves or nuts 10 and 12 may be of anywell-known or approved form ot" construction, and the nipple 9 is bypreference formed onthe double-ended sleeve 14", the upper threadedportion 15 of which is screwed into the depending threaded portion 16 ofthe upper feed-arm, against the lower end of which nipple or threadedportion 16 the shoulder 17 on the sleeve 14a engages, as shown.

The lower feed-arm 14 is provided with the depending screw-threadednipple 18, which receives the nut 19, and which nipple is alsointeriorly threaded, as shown, to receive the threaded portion of thefeed-valve 20, provided with a stem 21 and a handle 22, as

the feed-tube 27, the lower end of the sightshown. This feed-valve isfitted to a seat 23 at the top of the chamber 24, which communicates bypassage 25 in the extension or lateral portion 26 of the lower feed-armwith the supply-pipe 2, as shown. The end of the supply-pipe is shown asscrewed into a threaded opening in the inner threaded end of thesaidlateral portion 26.

The feed-valve 2O controls the flow through glass 11 being received in asocket in the nipple 13 on the upper face of the lower feedarm, as shownin the drawing.

The lower feed-arm is provided with a drainpassage 28, communicatingwith the sightglass, as shown, and this passage extends in an inclineddirection from the lower end of the socket in which the lower end of thesaid glass is received and communicates with the horizontal passage 29,formed in the lateral portion 30 of the said feed-arm. From thishorizontal passage extends the passage 31, preferably inclined, but notnecessarily so, and this passage or outlet is controlled by thedrain-valve 32, screw-threaded into the threaded bore of the lateralportion 30 of the said lower feed-arm, being fitted to a seatin thelateral portion 30 and when seated covering the outlet 3l, as shown inthe drawing. It will be readily seen that when this valve is unseatedsufciently to uncover the passage'3l the water of condensation which hasaccumulated in the sight-glass'will be allowed to drain off and thatwhen this valve is seated the communication between the sightglass andthe atmosphere is entirely shut off.

The upper feed-arm is provided with the diaphragm 33, above which is thechamber 34, with which the passage-ways 7 and 8 communicate, and at thetop of this arm is the internally-threaded boss or nipple 35, whichreceives the sleeve 36, the upper end of which is exteriorly threadedand receives the packing-nut 37, through which passes the valvestem 38,having a handle 39 and a reduced portion 40, the lower end of which ishollow, as shown at 4l. 42 is a valve having a stern 43, disposed withinthe hollow portion of the stem 38, as shown, the said valve being fittedto a seat 45 and controlling the passage 45 in the bottom of the cage'46, the upper cross portion of which is adapted to be engaged upon itsunder side by the pin 47, carried by the reduced portion 40 of the stem38. The opening seen back of the cage is the outlet for the oil passingfrom the upper feed-arm to the oil-pipe.

With the parts constructed and arranged substantially as above describedthe operation is substantially as follows: When the lubricator isfeeding under normal conditions through the sight-feed glass, thevalve-stem 38 is screwed to position, as shown in the drawing, allowingsufficient clearance for the valve 42 to be raised from its seat by theinfluence of the balancing pressure, which action in turn will permitthe oil to be delivered through the opening 45 and coincident opening inthe diaphragm 33 into the chamber 34, and thence to the parts to belubricated. With these conditions the cage 46 is seated on its seat onthe diaphragm 33, closing up the increased passage 45. In case itbecomes necessary to put steam or condensation into the glass 11, thevalve-stem 38 is screwed upward, bringing the stop-pin 47 into contactwith the under portion of the upper part of the cage, lifting the saidcage IOO IIO

from its seat, which action would permit a full opening into the glass11 through the passage 45. This opening would be maintained as long asit would be necessary to furnish the supply of steam, after which thevalve-stem would be screwed down to permit the valve 42 and cage 46 toagain be seated and work, as before, under normal conditions. In casethe lubricator sight-feed glass should be broken and it be foundnecessary to feed oil through an auxiliary hand oiling or otherauxiliary oiling device connected to the upper feed-arm, the valve-stem3S should be screwed down, forming a bearing on top of the valve 42,forcing said valve to its seat, which in turn will force the cagesecurely to its seat in the diaphragm 33. This would shut off allchances for the passage of steam or oil through the broken sight-feedglass.

The cage 46 is provided with openings on either side, so as to providefree circulation around and through the cage. The upper portion is madea true circle with an opening for the passage of the valve-stem.

The sleeve 36 being screwed into the boss on the top of the upperfeed-arm and all the parts of the device being connected by means ofscrew -threads and the like, it will be readily seen that the parts maybe easily assembled or taken apart for repairs or other purposes and theeectiveness of the improvement will be readily appreciated.

While the structural embodiment of the invention as hereinbeforedisclosed is what I at the present time consider the preferable one, Ido not wish to restrict myself to the details of construction hereinshown, but reserve the right to make such changes, variations, andmodifications as come properly within the scope of the invention andprotec` tion prayed.

What I claim as new is l. In a lubricator, a feed-arm with a chamber, acage tted to a seat around an opening in the bottom of said chamber andhaving a smaller port in its bottom, a valve fitted to said port in saidcage and movable within the cage independently thereof, and meansmovable independently of the cage and valve for seating the valve andcage together or allowing them to move independently of each other.

2. In a lubricator, a feed-arm having a chamber with opening, a cagefitted to said opening and having a small port, a valve movable withinthe cage and fitted to the opening therein, and means independent of andengaging said smaller valve and movable within the cage for closing bothof said ports.

3. In a lubricator, a feed-arm having a diaphragm with port, a cageseated at said port and having a smaller port, a valve fitted to saidport in the cage and having a stem, a stem disconnected from the cageand having tubular portions to receive the stem of the said valve andmeans to engage the cage, and means constructed to raise and lower thestem.

4. In a lubricator, a feed-arm having a diaphragm with port, a cagefitted to said port and having openings in its side walls and avalve-port, a valve having a stem and fitted to the port in the cage, astem independent of the cage and having tubular lower end to receive thestem of the Valve, and a lateral projection on said stem to engage andraise the cage and valve.

5. In a lubricator, a feed-arm having a chamber and diaphragm with port,a cage adapted to be seated to said port and having a smaller port inits lower portion, and openings above the same, a valve fitted to theport in the cage, a stem with tubular lower end movable independently ofthe cage, said valve being independently movable and having a stemfitting said tubular portion, and said lower end of the tubular stembeing adapted to engage said valve for seating the valve and cagetogether or allowing them to move independently of each other, as setforth.

6. In a lubricator, an arm having a diaphragm with port, a cage having abottom portion fitted to said port and havinga smaller port in itsbottom, a valve movable independently of the cage and fitted to saidport therein, a stem independent of said valve and cage and movablewithin the latter and having a portion to receive the stem of saidvalve, means for engaging said stem with the valve to hold the latter toits seat, and means for engaging the cage to raise the same to move thecage and valve simultaneously, as set forth.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

FRANK W. EDWARDS.

Witnesses:

ELIZABETH HOMBURG,

F. H. WIPPERMAN.

IOO

